Galosh



sqt. 24, .U LASLEY GALosH l Filed April- 4, 1938.

Patented Sept. 24, 1940 PATENT OFFICE GALOSH Ursula *Laslem Chicago, Ill., assigner of one-half Bert Halberstadt, New York, N. Y.

Application April 4, 1938, Serial No. 199,791

2 Claims. (Cl. 3ft-'1.3)

This invention relates to overshoes or galoshes u and finds particular utility in shoes of this type to be worn over womens footwear. Cne of the well known objections on the 4part 5 of women to` the wearingl of galoshes is the difilculty and nuisance of donning and removing them, with the attendant liability of soiling or injuring the fingers or nger nails.

Itis a major object of my invention to provide a galosh constructed in a novel manner so as to reduce such objections to a minimum.

More specifically stated, it is an object of the invention to provide a galosh which is slit at the rear downwardly from the top to a point adjacent to the heel, so as to permit the side and front portions-of the galosh to be folded outwardly and forwardly over the toe portion, thereby facilitating the entrance and removal of the shoe into and from such toe portion, after which 5m the side and front portions may be drawn rearwardly and upwardly to normal position to completely enclose the foot.

Another object is to provide an improved galosh of this character which is particularly designed to be worn over ladies shoes having high slender heels, commonly known as French heels, and in which a deep narrow heel pocket is provided, with the aforesaid slit extending down into the said heel pocket. 3U A further object is to provide an improved construction for quickly opening and closing the said slit, including a scm-called zipper fastening device arranged and coasting in a novel relation with other parte adjacent to such slit, to prevent the entrance of water and moisture therethrough,

and to guard the shoe and stocking against injury by said device.

Anpther object is to provide a galosh of the character described wherein, in the forward fold- 40 ing of the side and front portions thereof, the heel pocket is also' spread and flexed forwardly to further facilitate the entrance of the wearers shoe into the galosh, and in this connection it is an ancillary object, in the case of a galosh having a deep narrow heel pocket for French heels, to provide a rear slit which extends from the top oi the galosh continuously down to a point near the bottom of said heel pocket so as to facilitate the spreading and forward folding of the side vportions and the forward flexing of the heel pocket as above described;

Further objects and advantages will becomey I shown in the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a galosh embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation showing the vertical slit in a closed position.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the galosh with the sides folded outwardly and forwardly and the toe portion of a high-heeled shoe disposed within the toe pocket of the galosh.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View on an enm larged scale taken through the longitudinal median line of the galosh in the position as shown in Fig. 3. v

Fig. 5 is a rear View of the galosh as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. 5

Fig. 6 is a rear view of the galosh in partiell opened condition and with the marginal edges of the slit turned outwardly to show the underlying construction. 'l

Fig. 'l is a detailed sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along line 'l-l of Fig. 6. zo

Galoshes as heretofore customarily made are closed at the rear and have an opening at the front to permit of insertion and withdrawal of the wearers foot and shoe. The diiculty of donning and removing this type of galosh lies mainly in the frictional resistance of the rear portion of the galosh to movement along the heel and counter portion of the shoe, this `lceing aggravated in cases where the shoe has a rubber or rubber-tipped heel. in womens shoes, and parm ticularly those having French heels, there is a prominent rearward bulge or convexity of the counter portion; and galoshes for this type of shoe should have a sim'ilar rearward bulge to t about said counter portion, with restricted or mi forwardly sloping portions above and below such bulge to conform to the wearers ankle and the French heel of the shoe, respectively, so as to present the optimum in nt and neatness in appearance. vates the dimculty, in the case of a front-opening galosh, of donning and removing it, since the said rearward bulge makes more dimcuit the insertion or Withdrawal, to such an extent that frequently a woman pulls a slipper or low shoe dii on her foot in the attempt to remove the galosh.

According to my invention, the galosh is provided with a slit at its rear portion, preferably along a vertical median line, extending from the upper edge down to a point below said rearward 50 bulge, and in the case of a galosh for a Frenchheeled shoe, the slit is preferably continued down well into the heel-pocket, thus providing an entrance at the rear of the galosh and eliminating the said frictional resistance to entrance and 55 This construction, however. aggraddk withdrawal of the shoe. The construction also permits the side and front walls of the galosh to be folded downwardly about the toe portion thereof, and, in the case of a French-heel galosh. also permits spreading and forward exing of the heel pocket, thereby further facilitating such entrance and withdrawal.

Referring to the drawing, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed for illustrative purposes, the galosh comprisesgenerally a body having a toe portion it, a relatively deep heel pocket l2, a convex or rearwardly bulging counter it, and a top or ankle portion id. Preferably, though not necessarily, the body is completely closed at the front and sides, and, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 6, is provided at its rear side with a vertical slit It therethrough extending from the upper edge downwardly substantiallly along the median line of the rear wall through the convex counter it and to a point adjacent the base of the heel pocket i2.

' Attached to the inner wall of the galosh and extending adjacent to the marginal edges of the slit are parts il of a conventional slide fastening device commonly known as a zipper fastener. These parts il are spaced inwardly from the edges of the slit and serve to draw said edges into abutment as the coacting slide IS is moved upwardly. Close-fitting registered abutment of said edges, as shown in Fig. 7, prevents the entrance of moisture and conceals the fastening device,

rendering the galosh substantially waterproof and giving it a neat appearance when the slit is closed.

A web or tongue i@ may be secured to the inner wall of the galosh along one side of the slit to extend across the slit and underlie the fastening device when closed, as seen in Figs. 6 and '7. Such a tongue may be formed of any suitable moisture-proof material and serves not only to obstruct the entrance of moisture but also as a guard-strip to protect the wearers shoes and hose from injury byfthe fastening device. If desired, the lower portion of this guard strip, corresponding for example tothe depth of the heel pocket I2, may be fastened at both its side edges and its bottom edge to the wall of the galosh adjacent to the slit I6, as indicated at I9, |91 and I9", respectively, in Fig. 6, so as to provide a more effective seal against the penetration of moisture, and said lower portion may be made of material which is elastic in a direction transversely of thestrip, allowing it to stretch to the extent necessary to permit the forward folding of the side and front walls into the positions seen in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

The walls of the galosh may be made of any exible waterproof material as is customarily employed and may be lined with an insulating fabric 20. As indicated in Fig. '7, the fabric lining attached to the inner wall of the galosh terminates a short distance from the slit IB to accom- .modate the fastening elements I'I and guard strip I9, thereby reducing the over-all thickness of the assembled layers in this zone. When the slide fastener is in closed position the-tongue I9 lies in smooth, unfolded, substantially flat condition andthe edges of the outer wall of the upper are drawn into abutting engagement so that the fastener elements are completely concealed and a very neatappearance is effected.

Preferably the tongue is fastened at one of its vertical edges to the upper substantially throughout its entire length, and its opposite edge is unattached except at its lower portion. Thus the tongue does not interfere with the free opening and forward folding of the upper.

In donning or removing the galosh, the side and front portions thereof may, if desired, be folded outwardly and forwardly to a position enclosing the front or toe portion of the galosh, as shown in Figs. 3, Il and 5.- In this position the heel pocket is spread and flexed forwardly to provide the minimum obstruction to insertion of the shoe, as indicated in Fig. 3, after'which. the portions which are folded forwardly may be drawn up over the shoe and ankle. ln so doing, the heel pocket of the galosh is released for move-1 ment up and around the heel of the shoe. The slide It may then be moved upwardly to its closed position, drawing the marginal edges of the slit into registered abutment and forming a neat t over the heel, counter and ankle.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that my invention provides a novel and improved galosh, particularly Well adapted to be worn over a womans shoe having a high heel and a convex or bulging counter, and which has advantages and novel features of construction permitting easy insertion and removal of the shoe, eciently preventing the entrance of water and moisture therethrough, providing a neat t and presenting an attractive and tidy appearance.

I claim as my invention:

l. A galosh having closed side and front portions and a deep heel pocket with a vertical slit in the back extending from the top of the galosh to a point adjacent the bottom of said pocket, a slide fastener for closing said slit, and a resilient flap transversely stretchable and moisture-proof in its lower portion, spanning said slit and located inwardly of said fastener and secured to the adjacent inner walls of said heel pocket along both of the side edges of the flap in such manner as to lie fiat and unfolded across the inner side of said fastener, to exclude moisture and to form a smooth at yprotecting strip preventing contact of the shoe and hose with the fastener when the latter is closed, said flap being unattached at one edge above said lower attached portion so as to permit the forward folding of the front and side portions of the galosh to facilitate ingress and egress of the wearers shoe.

2. inl overshoe including a body having a slit from the top to substantially the bottom thereof, a slide fastener device for closing said slit, and guard means on the inside of said body to extend across said slit and underlie said slide fastener device for protecting the wearers articles of dress such as shoes or hose within said body, said guard means including an upper portion attached to the body at only one side of said slit to-permit opening of the slit and folding back j of tlxebody vat each side of the slit to 'facilitate donning' or removing the overshoe, and a' lower elastic portion" secured to said body at both sides of saidslit and below the lower end of said slit in a manner to exclude entrance of moisture to the interior of said body but being yieldable to permit spreading of the lower end of said slit when said body is opened or folded back along said slit. 

